Following the rejection by MPs of a request to preserve the triple lock last night, pensions for millions will not see an increase.
The mechanism ensures the state pension rises by inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest – each year.
Ministers argue that it would be unfair in 2022 because earnings were artificially boosted during the Covid Pandemic.
The triple lock was retained by the House of Lords earlier this month. Last night, MPs rejected it by 300 votes to 229. This was after the majority of Tories used a three-line whip in support to the Government.
Sir Geoffrey Cox was the ex-attorney general, who faced criticism over earning millions abroad while the Commons was sitting. He turned up to vote for the Government. This was Cox’s first time in the chamber after he missed two sitting days last week to go to a Mauritius business meeting.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) wants to suspend the pensions triple lock for a year because last year’s rise of eight per cent was artificially boosted because of the effect of the pandemic
Campaigners contend that the reduction of pension increases will unfairly impact older persons.
Dennis Reed, director of campaign group Silver Voices, said: ‘The Conservative Government has made a rod for its own back by whipping its MPs to vote against the interests of their older constituents.
‘The combination of the cost-of-living crisis and this broken manifesto pledge will throw hundreds of thousands more pensioner households into poverty.’
Mr Reed insisted his organisation will ‘continue to draw attention to the attacks on older people’s benefits and pensions’, adding: ‘The Conservatives will pay an eventual price at the polls. The silver vote is shifting fast, and it will not be easy for Boris Johnson to reverse this trend.’
And Duncan Baker, Tory MP for North Norfolk, said: ‘Woe betide if we don’t honour the triple lock next year. We must get back to giving pensioners the increase they deserve.’
Ex-Tory pensions minister Baroness Altmann had proposed an amendment to the Lords that would have seen pensions go up by approximately 5%. However, it was rejected by her. Following last night’s vote, she said: ‘Three hundred MPs voted with the Government to put more pensioners into poverty.
Stephen Timms, Labour MP and chairman of the Commons work and pensions committee, said: ‘If there isn’t some sort of catch-up at some point then that will be contrary to the Government’s long-held intention that the state pension should at least keep track with earnings’
‘Don’t they understand how low our state pension is and how many elderly people rely on this for most or all their income? Telling people in their 90s who can’t afford their heating it’s just for one year doesn’t help.’ Labour work and pensions spokesman Jonathan Reynolds said: ‘They’re using the pandemic as a smokescreen to scrap the triple lock and pocket the savings.’
Stephen Timms, Labour MP and chairman of the Commons work and pensions committee, said: ‘If there isn’t some sort of catch-up at some point then that will be contrary to the Government’s long-held intention that the state pension should at least keep track with earnings.’
In the debate, work and pensions minister Guy Opperman insisted it was ‘not possible’ to tie the pensions rise to a figure for earnings which does not take Covid into account.
‘Office for National Statistics experts investigated whether it was possible to produce a single robust figure for underlying earnings growth that stripped out impacts from the pandemic,’ he said. ‘They concluded this was not possible.’